


Josie's: Your home away from home

by keysburg



Series: Josie's Bar [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Angst sort of, Gen, No Plot, Spoilers for S1, biromantic foggy, foggy and claire should hang out, i thought this would be funny, i tried to write fluff but i have too many sad matt feels, they drank the eel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 10:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3934138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysburg/pseuds/keysburg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Foggy runs into Claire and they talk about the one thing they have in common...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Josie's: Your home away from home

Foggy swept into Josie’s, waving at Rob Donahue as he did so. He was alone, Karen begging off for one of her mysterious errands and Matt, well--Matt had on his new costume, and was probably beating the shit out of some lowlife right now. Foggy just hoped it wasn’t the other way around. He headed toward the end of the bar, where Josie was already setting a bottle of eel down, only to pull up short when he recognized the pretty woman sitting in the middle, her mocha skin illuminated by the bar’s red neon lights. 

He choked back the exuberant greeting he wanted to give her and queried in more circumspect tones as he pulled up a stool next to her. “Hey there, Claire. Never seen you in Josie’s before. What’s shaking?” He reached over for the bottle and the glass Josie had set out and poured himself three fingers. His usual dose had not been enough since he learned Matt’s secret.

“Not much.” Claire said. “It’s my night off. I needed a break. It seems like if I stay home, someone always needs something. Santino needs help with math homework, or one of the Garcia twins needs a couple stitches.” 

“Or you find a masked man bleeding in your dumpster? Matt told me, you know.” Foggy told her. “About his mission, about Fisk, and about you.” He slugged back the eel liquor, relishing the burn as it went down. He looked at her through the mirror over the bar, and she was looking back at him, her eyes dark and thoughtful. 

“I’m surprised. But you guys are close, huh?” 

“I thought we were. We’ve been friends since college. But apparently there was a lot going on that I didn’t know about.” He reached over the bar for a clean glass and poured two fingers in the clean one and his own. He slid the new glass next to Claire’s, which was almost empty, and sipped at his own. 

“Mmm. For such a smooth talker, he’s not very good at saying what needs to be said.” She finished off her drink and reached for the eel. Foggy clinked glasses with her but watched as she swallowed it down, making a face. “Ugh. That is awful. What the hell?”

“You don’t want to know. Slainte.” Foggy said, as he remembered his grandfather saying. He tipped it back himself, the burn a little more distant now. “You’re right about him. I think that is what hurt the most, really. I know all about his dad, his obsession with Thurgood Marshall...but here was this huge part of him, and he didn’t feel like he could tell me about it.” Foggy paused. “It’s nice to talk to someone about all this. But it’s probably not what you imagined for your night off.” Claire raised one shoulder in a half hearted shrug. 

“I don’t have anyone to talk to about him either. You can’t exactly tell your mom the reason you’re exhausted is because you had to stitch up a masked vigilante in the middle of the night. Did he tell you how he hung up on me in the middle of that bombing mess, and then only left me a message after?”

“He’s kind of a bastard.” said Foggy in an agreeable tone. “But that was after you guys called it off, right?” Claire snorted.

“I know he was just trying to give me space. That I pretty much asked for it. But I think hanging up on someone when you had to call them for help patching up a dying Russian asshole in the middle of siege situation calls for a little more than ‘Made it through, thanks again.’”

“It probably does. But at least he called. He ignores my calls.” Foggy shook his head. “And now I sound like a jilted girlfriend. I’m not sure what it is about that jerk, but I just worry about him. I can’t help it.” Foggy poured again, for both of them. Claire grimaced, but slugged it back, and winced at the taste of the eel.

“Yeah.” she paused. Foggy looked at her, expectantly. She sighed and continued. “I suppose he told you how I told him I couldn’t fall in love with him. Not when he had to do some of the things he does.” 

“That was smart. How is a person even supposed to deal with someone like that? Who is willing to risk himself, take any amount of punishment, just because it *might* help someone else? What are you supposed to do with yourself at night when he’s jumping off rooftops and probably getting himself in trouble?”

“I thought it was smart too.” Claire said. “How are you dealing with it? Not in here drinking this shit every night, I hope.”

“No, I save this for the bad nights.” Foggy sighed. “I don’t know. I work a lot of nights. I sleep with inappropriate women. I started hooking up with my ex again. Mostly I try not to think about it too hard. The new suit helps.”

“Have you seen it? In person?” Claire asks. “It looked a little ridiculous in the paper. With the horns.” Foggy laughed.

“Yeah, I was hoping it was exaggerated for effect. Nope. The horns are real. But…the first time he showed up in it, it scared the heck out of me, and I knew it was him. I bet it works great on bad guys. I’m surprised he hasn’t come by to show you yet. He said it was your idea.”

“He…might think I’m still out of town. That…might be part of the reason I’m not home right now.” 

“Because you’re afraid he won’t show up or you’re afraid he will?” Foggy asked. 

“Both. He can get ahold of me if he needs medical attention. When he doesn’t show up I’m wondering if he’s okay. If he did show up, uninjured for once, I’m sure I’d do something I would regret.”

“Something like what?” Foggy asked, waggling his eyebrows at her. Claire rolled her eyes at him.

“Something that would not be smart. Its just--I’m glad he told you. Before anyone else knew, being around him was like being around someone gasping for air. Sometimes literally. It was like he was just relieved to be himself around someone, even before he told me his real name. It was intense, how desperately he needed that. And--different. Most guys do the opposite when you meet them, try to avoid being seen.” Foggy nodded.

“After the bombings, I guess he started going to confession more regularly. I think you must have been a good sounding board for him, and he missed that. That’s a lot to ask of any one person though: nurse, moral compass…girlfriend? Of course if he wasn’t so pigheaded and had told me what was up earlier, I think I could have helped. It’s not like I ever turned him down when he wanted my help before, not even when he wanted to leave our cushy corporate law gig and start our own practice.”

“That’s the thing though.” Claire said. “He takes it all on himself. Way more than anyone should-- or can bear. It’s frightening.” 

“Very scary. And…amazing?” Foggy poured again. Claire nodded. 

“Amazing.” she said. They held up their glasses in a silent toast and drank again. 

“So...” Foggy said. “Metro General’s got to have some other pretty nurses you could set me up with.” Claire laughed.

“I don’t know if I’m going to agree to that. Matt’s obviously told you all about me, but he’s told me nothing about you. You guys went to law school together?"

“Columbia.” Foggy said. “You see, my mom wanted me to be a butcher…”


End file.
